Page 3 of Accidentally Ever After (Wings & Whispers #1)
“So,” I said after we’d eaten in awkward silence for several minutes, “what exactly does a consort do? Besides wear ridiculous clothes and be stared at?”
Caelen’s lips twitched. “A consort is a partner to the royal they are bound to. Traditionally, they attend court functions, offer counsel, and…” he paused, those otherworldly eyes darkening slightly, “provide companionship.”
“Companionship,” I repeated flatly. “You mean sex.”
To my surprise, a flush of pale purple spread across his cheekbones. “Physical intimacy is an aspect of the consort relationship, yes. But not the entirety of it.”
“And if I’m not interested in providing that aspect?”
His wings, which had been relaxed against his back, twitched slightly. “As I said this morning, I will not rush you. However…” he took a sip of his wine, “the binding magic will create certain… pressures… over time.”
“Pressures?” I echoed, not liking the sound of that.
“The magic seeks to fulfill its purpose—the joining of matched souls. The longer that joining is denied, the more… insistent the urge becomes.”
“Are you saying this magic is going to make me horny for you whether I want to be or not?” I demanded.
Caelen choked slightly on his wine. “A crude but not entirely inaccurate assessment. It affects both parties equally, if that offers any consolation.”
“It doesn’t,” I said, pushing my plate away. “So I’m basically magically roofied into wanting you?”
His brow furrowed. “I’m unfamiliar with that term, but I sense its negative connotation. The magic does not override consent—it merely… enhances existing compatibility.”
“Existing compatibility?” I repeated skeptically. “We just met.”
“The matchmakers see beyond surface acquaintance,” he said softly. “They perceive potential harmony between souls. The magic would not have accepted our binding if the potential for genuine connection did not exist.”
I wanted to argue, but something in his expression—a vulnerability behind the regal mask—stopped me.
“Fine,” I sighed. “So we’re magically compatible. Still doesn’t change the fact that I’m stuck here against my will in clothes that feel like wearing nothing at all.”
“Does the attire truly distress you?” he asked, seeming genuinely concerned. “I can commission more substantial garments if it would make you more comfortable.”
The sincerity in his voice caught me off guard. “It’s just… different,” I admitted. “Humans don’t usually show so much… everything.”
“Curious,” he mused. “In our culture, physical beauty is celebrated openly. Your form is pleasing—why conceal it?”
I felt heat rise in my cheeks. “Thanks, I guess? But humans are weird about bodies. We save the view for people we’re intimate with.”
Something sparked in his eyes. “Then I shall consider myself privileged when you choose to share your form fully with me.”
The way he said it—like it was a foregone conclusion that eventually I’d be naked with him—sent an unwelcome jolt of heat through my body.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Your Highness,” I said, trying to sound unaffected. “I’m still working on the not-turning-into-a-toad plan.”
“Caelen,” he corrected. “When we are alone, please use my name.”
“Caelen,” I repeated, and something shifted in his expression—a softening around the eyes, a slight parting of lips.
Suddenly, one of the silent servants appeared at his side, whispering something in his ear. His expression hardened.
“I apologize,” he said, rising. “Court business requires my attention. Please, enjoy the rest of your meal and the amenities of the palace.” He hesitated, then added, “I hope tomorrow might bring us closer to understanding.”
After he left, I finished my wine and wandered back to my rooms, my head spinning with everything I’d learned. Magic bonds, soul compatibility, and a fairy prince who looked at me like I was a puzzle he was eager to solve.
I was examining the strange, glowing flowers on my balcony when I heard a soft sound behind me. Turning, I found Caelen standing in the doorway that connected our suites.
“I thought you had court business,” I said.
“Resolved more quickly than anticipated,” he replied, stepping onto the balcony. In the moonlight (or whatever passed for moonlight in this realm), his skin had that pearlescent glow, and his wings caught the light in hypnotic patterns.
“I wished to ensure you were settling in adequately,” he added, moving closer.
“As adequately as possible for someone who accidentally married a fairy prince,” I said with a wry smile.
He chuckled, the sound rich and warm. “Your humor is refreshing. The court could use more of it.”
“Glad my existential crisis is entertaining.”
He was beside me now, close enough that I could feel the strange energy that seemed to radiate from his skin. “May I show you something?” he asked.
“Depends on what it is,” I said cautiously.
His lips curved. “Nothing untoward. A view.”
“I’ve already got a pretty amazing view,” I said, gesturing to the landscape below—forests of trees with luminescent leaves, fields that seemed to ripple with light like the surface of water.
“It improves considerably from above,” he said, extending his hand.
I hesitated, then placed my palm against his. His skin was cooler than human temperature but not unpleasantly so, and that same electric tingle I’d felt when his wing brushed me at the wedding passed between us.
“You want to fly?” I asked, suddenly understanding.
“If you are willing.”
I should have said no. It was probably dangerous, definitely intimate, and would literally put me at his mercy. But there was something in his eyes—an earnest desire to share something he loved—that made me nod.
“Okay. But if you drop me, I’m coming back as a ghost to haunt your pointy ears forever.”
He laughed again, and the sound did something warm and liquid to my insides. “I would never drop you, Blake. You are precious cargo.”
Before I could process that statement, he stepped behind me, arms encircling my waist. “I must hold you close,” he murmured, his breath tickling my ear. “For safety.”
His chest pressed against my back, solid and strong. Then his wings extended fully on either side of us—massive, iridescent things that seemed to capture and refract the starlight.
“Ready?” he asked, his lips nearly brushing my ear.
“As I’ll ever be,” I managed, my heart hammering.
The first powerful beat of his wings lifted us a few feet off the balcony, and I instinctively grabbed his forearms where they crossed over my stomach. The second beat took us higher, and suddenly we were soaring out over the palace grounds.
“Holy shit!” I gasped, equal parts terrified and exhilarated.
I felt rather than heard his laugh, a rumble against my back. “Open your eyes, Blake,” he said gently. “You’re missing the view.”
I hadn’t even realized I’d squeezed them shut. Cautiously, I opened them and immediately lost my breath for a different reason.
The fairy realm spread below us like a living painting.
Forests glowed with internal light, rivers sparkled with something that wasn’t quite water, and in the distance, mountains floated impossibly among clouds that shimmered with rainbow hues.
Above, stars clustered in constellations I’d never seen, some pulsing like heartbeats.
“It’s… incredible,” I whispered.
“Yes,” Caelen agreed, but when I glanced back, he was looking at me, not the view.
We flew in silence for a while, his wings carrying us in lazy circles above the palace. The sensation was unlike anything I’d experienced—smoother than any airplane, more intimate than any carnival ride. I gradually relaxed against him, letting my head rest back against his shoulder.
“This is my favorite time,” he said quietly. “When the night blooms fully and the realm dreams. Up here, I can simply be Caelen, not the prince.”
Something in his tone—a loneliness I recognized—made me turn slightly in his arms. “Is it hard? Being a prince?”
His wings adjusted our course slightly before he answered. “It is all I have ever known. But yes, there are… burdens. Expectations. The constant awareness that your actions affect an entire realm.”
“Sounds lonely,” I said before I could stop myself.
His arms tightened fractionally around me. “It has been. Until now.”
The simple statement hung in the air between us as we drifted back toward the palace. As we neared my balcony, I became acutely aware of how perfectly our bodies fit together, how natural it felt to be held in his arms.
It’s just the magic bond thing , I told myself. Not real attraction.
Caelen landed us gently on the balcony but didn’t immediately release me. For a moment, we stood there, his arms around my waist, my back against his chest, his wings creating a cocoon around us both.
“Thank you for trusting me,” he said softly, his lips close to my ear.
I turned in his arms, intending to step away, but found myself caught in his gaze instead. This close, I could see that his eyes weren’t simply purple—they were a universe of violet and indigo with flecks of silver like stars.
“You’re welcome,” I said, my voice embarrassingly husky.
His gaze dropped to my mouth, and for one heart-stopping moment, I thought he might kiss me. Part of me—a part I wasn’t ready to acknowledge—hoped he would.
Instead, he stepped back, wings folding behind him. “Rest well, Blake Morgan,” he said formally, though his eyes remained warm. “Tomorrow brings new discoveries.”
After he returned to his own chambers, I collapsed onto my ridiculous fairy bed, heart racing. What the hell was happening to me? Twenty-four hours ago, I was furious about being tricked into this arrangement. Now I was disappointed that a fairy prince hadn’t kissed me?
It’s the magic bond , I reminded myself firmly. It’s already working on me.
But as I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t help wondering—if the magic only enhanced existing compatibility, what did that say about the flutter in my chest when Caelen looked at me?